The invention relates to improvements in apparatus for transporting stacks of sheets or like commodities to a processing machine, particularly for transporting stacks of paper sheets to a packing machine. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus of the type disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pats. Nos. 4,518,075 to Aykut et al. and 4,629,058 to Reissmann et al.
The patents to Aykut et al. and Reissmann et al. disclose apparatus wherein a first conveyor receives groups of abutting stacks of paper sheets from a stack accumulating and group assembling station, a gathering or condensing conveyor which converts successive groups into a continuous row, and a singularizing conveyor which advances successive foremost stacks of the row toward the processing machine in such a way that the stacks are spaced apart from each other and can enter the processing machine at required intervals, i.e., so that the machine receives a stack during the optimum stage of the respective cycle. The patents further disclose that the gathering conveyor can comprise a plurality of individual conveyors which are operated in such a way that they reduce the gaps between successive groups of stacks in order to form the aforementioned row of abutting stacks which are thereupon singularized prior to entering the processing machine. The speed of the singularizing conveyor exceeds the speed of conveyors which together form the gathering conveyor.